Comments on: Amazon Kindle review [Update]

By: Jason

Jason — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:37:16 +0000

Check out

http://kindle.yourreviewhub.com

They provide an unbiased review of the kindle and it really helped me choose whether to buy one or not.

By: PG

PG — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 20:53:56 +0000

G58. I fail to see how you can review something you’ve never picked up. You’re obviously a Mac fanboy, and I’m sure if Steve Jobs had come up with the Kindle, you’d be all about it. I’m sure we’d all be very sorry if you committed suicide, but just to be sure, why don’t you try it and we’ll find out.

I’ve had a Kindle for about a week. I really like it. The downloads are quick, the store is easy to shop, and the interface is quite intuitive. I prefer to shop on my computer for books as the connection is faster and in color, but reading on the Kindle is excellent. I’ve got about 15 books on there now, many of which I downloaded for free from sites like Project Gutenburgh and Feedbooks. They have a lot of the classics that have become public domain for free.

The only complaint I have is that the page turn buttons, particularly the one on the right of the device, is so large that I press it accidentally sometimes. That’s it. Everything else is great. That’s pretty good for the first run. I’m sure once they get all the feedback from the first adopters (which they are soliciting) they’ll tweak the design, and maybe offer some other colors, but it works very well, and despite what the fanboy thinks, that is what’s important.

I recommend it to anyone who reads a lot. The device disappears just like they say and allows you to immerse yourself in the book. The case that comes with it solves the holding issue with hitting the buttons, and protects it quite nicely.

By: Beverly

Beverly — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:59:34 +0000

It’s obviously has not dawned on the average person that some older people with arthritic hands and wrists thanks whomever for designing a decent e-book.

I don’t own a Kindle as they’re not available in my country but I do have a very elegant Sony PRS505 book reader which is spectacular and weighs 9 ozs.

By: G58

G58 — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 05:05:36 +0000

That’s the ugliest, most stupid thing I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen EVERYTHING! Why would anyone design anything as ugly and counter intuitive as that? It’s huge! Those keys are revolting. Why???

I’ve already got my MacBook Pro (Gorgeous) and my iPhone (Gorgeous), do these fools really think I’m going to lug a white plastic 1970s Palitoy brick around with me? Put it beside something that’s been designed, and it’s: Huh??!!!!!!!!!!!!

If I was returning to civilisation from being castaway for 30 years on a desert island, I’d commit suicide if I was given this. Even then I’d know it was wrong - So wrong. It looks like a 1979 Texas Instruments calculator had an abortion and it came out albino. Nasty, nasty, nasty.

By: Amazon Kindle

Amazon Kindle — Sat, 01 Mar 2008 09:05:13 +0000

I do think e-book is the future. More and more people will not likely to bring a “stone” and walk around. However I hope amazon can ship kindle to worldwide so that everyone can enjoy the best ebook reader!

By: mark

mark — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 23:39:19 +0000

I have a Sony E reader and a Kindle. I travel and read a great deal. There is no comparison between the Kindle and the Sony. The Sony is far superior in looks, construction, ergonomics etc. An ereader should be just that and nothing else. The wifi is silly when you can hold a hundred books at a time. Who needs it? Read a newspaper. I have put hundreds of hours on both and now never even pick up the bulky, ugly Kindle.

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 18:47:11 +0000

I’m so excited, my Kindle is coming in on Monday!

Anyways, I just wanted to say that the Kindle DOES support PDF, although picture-heavy PDFs might screw up. But I read a review where the woman showed a knitting pattern PDF on her Kindle, and the images worked perfectly. Also, Amazon does charge 10 cents to do a conversion, e.g. for PDFs, but that’s to send it wirelessly to the Kindle. You can send it to a different email address (which I can’t remember), and they send it to you via email. The only difference is that you have to plug your Kindle to your computer. I really don’t know why they don’t put that up on Amazon’s Kindle page. I guess they want to make some money with it, but I bet a lot more people would consider it if they knew this.

Oh, and glad to hear the web browsing works good!

Thanks for a great review. :)

By: Geo Mealer

Geo Mealer — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 19:30:08 +0000

You can download books on your computer and move them onto the Kindle via USB, like other eBooks. This would be your only option outside of Sprint’s service (including outside the US).

As has been mentioned, it does support PDF via Amazon’s conversion, and current models support SDHC though it’s undocumented that it does so.

Regarding holding it, assuming you’re not using the cover, the key is to realize that the keyboard isn’t active unless you’re in an input field. That whole bottom area becomes a handhold while reading, even though it’s a little counter-intuitive to hold something by the keys. The cover makes this a non-issue (if you’re otherwise happy with it) as it has multiple places that can serve as a handhold.

By: Punit Sethi

Punit Sethi — Sun, 06 Jan 2008 17:38:26 +0000

Hey folks
Just a question - so how about people outside US? How would books be delivered to them? Or is it that Kindle is for US only..?

By: John Z

John Z — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:44:24 +0000

Toby’s right. Most negative reviews are from people who read negative reviews for other people who have never actually used one. Besides, i could of sold mine on eBay for over $1,000 but i don’t want to give mine up!

By: John Z

John Z — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:42:07 +0000

The Kindle looks/is different in-person. Photos, especially the first ones that leaked out do not do it justice. I’ve had one since December 5th and I like the design and the Kindle feels good holding in your hand.

By: mattmchugh

mattmchugh — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:50:08 +0000

I haven’t handled a Kindle yet (I’ve handled a Sony Reader… t’wern’t much impressed), but judging from this review and others I’ve read, the Kindle seems like a decent device — almost certainly the best attempt at an electronic text reader to date. But no way it’s the much-mythologized “iPod for text” … the touch-it-and-want-it gizmo that will push electronic books irrevocably into the mainstream.

However, sell the thing $99 bucks, and maybe we’re gettin’ close. That’s the consumer sweet spot. Mark my words.

– mattmchugh

By: Ben U

Ben U — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 06:09:18 +0000

@Kindle Kind
Most lengthy electronic documents I read are in PDF format. Often they are image-based (copyright-free books from googlebooks, for instance, scanned at a university library). I hate to use up an excessive amount of paper to read these; at the same time my eyes get pretty red if I am reading on my laptop all day. A portable eInk display seems to me an ideal solution.

By: Kindle Kind

Kindle Kind — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:12:47 +0000

Is the fact that it can’t show a PDF truly an issue to anyone? Neither can my collection of paperback books, luckily that’s why I only READ them. Since when did anyone really want to get something like a Kindle, and then stare at the same PDF’s they can view ON THEIR COMPUTER with it? I doubt there is a single Kindle owner in the world that doesn’t have a computer too (and a cell phone, pda, iPod, laptop, etc).

By: Toby Segaran

Toby Segaran — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 02:15:16 +0000

My girlfriend and I are both heavy readers and frequent travelers. We used a Sony Reader and were very happy with it, but found the content was annoying to get onto it.

We’ve had a Kindle for 4 days and like it so much that we’re getting another one so we won’t fight over it. It appears that almost all the criticism online is from people who have never used an ebook or aren’t even in the target market (tech geeks who don’t read novels?). We wrote a full retort here:
http://lifetinker.com/?p=25

By: Carl

Carl — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:30:11 +0000

How do they charge you for the ten cents per everything you e-mail to your Kindle? Do they just tack it onto your Amazon account?

By: prima

prima — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:54:07 +0000

WHat about its ugliness? This think looks it came from Star Trek of the 80s!

By: Peter Ha

Peter Ha — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 07:46:04 +0000

@David

You are correct. I was referring to PDFs that, for example, are on an SD card.

@Symonty
I did mention the MP3 player and it was great to see even though you have no control.

By: Symonty ( SDHC and MP3 )

Symonty ( SDHC and MP3 ) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 03:46:14 +0000

SDHC and MP3 Player …

I am happy to report sdhc seemed to work fine, used a Transcend SDHC 8GB card and it worked great.

Also Did you mention the mp3 player! That was a surprise, but no controls still good to see.

Got to play with one from a friend at amazon, so I was not scared to break it ( haha ) anyways …

By: david pogue

david pogue — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 16:34:57 +0000

Yet another repetition that the Kindle doesn’t display PDF files.

It does. You email a PDF to the Kindle, and it shows up like any other book! I’ve done it, and I’ve confirmed with the Kindle’s product manager.

Hope this helps!

–David Pogue